Is there really free speech on college campuses?
Recently, it has become the hip new trend to shut down conservative speeches and events on college campuses. At major universities across America, there is an epidemic of left-wing professors brainwashing young minds into thinking that Nazis and fascists are taking over the country. At first, I was confused as to how such ridiculous claims could gain any traction in this day and age. After all, everyone has access to the internet and can research the issues that have become hot topics over the past few weeks; and yet, headlines from left-wing organizations such as CNN and Buzzfeed are still being shared and promoted as true.
One terrible effect of this massive campaign of misinformation is that one of our basic rights as Americans, free speech, is being taken away by none other than liberal millennials. Two major cases of this have taken place over the past few weeks: Milo Yiannopoulos’ speech at UC Berkeley and Gavin McGinnes’ speech at NYU. In both cases, violent protests broke out on college campuses to keep these speakers from sharing their ideas. The irony of this was somehow missed by many on the left, but consider the fact that college is supposed to be a place where people go to open their minds and challenge their views on the world by hearing opinions that differ from their own. Instead, what we now have is one specific mindset being pushed by the media and legitimized by the professors and any idea that goes against this narrative is either branded as racist or fascist.
Even going so far as to shut down events with violence, the extreme left, which is quickly becoming the mainstream left, has taken true fascism to the next level. I can’t help but wonder if the ever-growing group of social justice warriors actually believes the things they are saying, or if they are simply latching on the the new cool trend of hating Trump and supporters of Trump. Given that most of the things I see people on the left writing and sharing are extremely and unfairly biased, I can only assume that they never bothered to actually look into the issues about which they continue to yell and complain.
Milo Yiannopoulos speech at UC Berkeley
In case you are unfamiliar with the two recent cases of conservative speakers being robbed of their First Amendment right to free speech, here is a rundown of what has taken place. Firstly, Milo Yiannopoulos, a gay, immigrant, jew who dates black guys attempted to have a speech about free speech on the campus of UC Berkeley, the birthplace of the free speech movement, and was shut down by violent protests. Apparently, the extreme irony of this situation was lost on the groups of liberal millennials who claim to be defenders of people’s rights. On the grounds that Yiannopoulos is a racist nazi that spews hate, these groups of social justice warriors and “anti-fascists” proceeded to start fires, destroy buildings, mace, and beat up any and every conservative they could find until the speech was ultimately cancelled and Milo had to be evacuated.
Gavin McInnes speech at NYU
Similarly at Gavin McInnes’ speech, after the violence and pepper spraying that took place as McInnes attempted to enter the building, the speech was interrupted by dozens of whining college kids. They began to do everything they could to stop people from hearing what the speaker was saying. At one point, a professor walked to the front in an attempt to bring order to the event. When he said, “We must give the presenter the opportunity to speak,” he was met with a loud response of, “No!” from the unruly part of the crowd. Gavin then attempted to open up a discussion by asking one of the screaming liberals to come to the front and voice his opinion. To no one’s surprise, he refused to speak to McInnes and instead intensified his yelling of the group’s chant, “Who’s campus, our campus!”
The fact that I am a big fan of Gavin McInnes is beside the point when I say that what took place at this event was despicable and embarrassing. After about 15 minutes, the speech was ended because order could not be maintained and the University decided not to remove any of the agitators from the building. I hope that people will start to recognize what is happening here before it gets too far. I can’t imagine what argument one might have to defend this behavior but I’m certainly open to hearing it.
What are your thoughts on free speech on college campuses?
Stan Collins
